New Delhi, Jan 30 Australian batting maestro Steve Smith, who etched his name among the all-time greats by becoming the fourth Australian to reach 10,000 Test runs, has stated that one of the batters from Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, and young prodigy Sam Konstas could be the fifth Australian to reach the milestone.
The 35-year-old on Wednesday joined Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as the fourth Australian to score the 10000 Test runs. Overall, he became just the 15th player to pass 10,000 men's Test runs.
“It’s a good question. I think there’s a few people that can certainly tick it off. Marnus (Labuschagne) is about halfway there. Travis (Head) potentially. (Sam) Konstas is 19 and he could play for a long, long time potentially," Smith told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Smith achieved the milestone in his 115th Test match, making him the fastest among his Australian predecessors in terms of matches played.
While Ponting reached the landmark in fewer innings (196), Smith (205 innings) still comfortably surpasses Waugh (244 innings) and Border (235 innings) in terms of speed to the milestone.
Smith acknowledged that reaching 10,000 Test runs is now tougher due to changing pitch conditions. He noted that the surfaces in Australia have become more bowler-friendly, making it difficult for batters to pile on massive scores.
“The stats suggest that all batting averages in Australia are coming down, and bowling averages are also declining. These wickets we’ve played on over the last three years have been tough, particularly for top-order players. You need a lot of luck to score big runs and get hundreds," said Smith.
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